RSPB Scotland makes appeal over missing hen harrier Calluna

A satellite-tagged hen harrier has vanished above a grouse moor, with conservationists calling the disappearance “very concerning”.

RSPB Scotland is urging anyone with information to contact police after the young bird disappeared on August 12, the start of the grouse shooting season.

The female harrier named Calluna was tagged this summer at a nest on the National Trust for Scotland’s Mar Lodge estate near Braemar as part of the charity’s EUfunded Hen Harrier LIFE project.

Her transmitter’s data was being monitored by RSPB Scotland and showed that the bird fledged from the nest in July and left the area in early August, with the data showing her gradually heading east over the Deeside moors.

While the tag data showed it to be working perfectly, transmissions ended abruptly on August 12, with no further data transmitted.

Her last recorded position was on a grouse moor a few miles north of Ballater.

Ian Thomson, head of investigations at RSPB Scotland, said: “This bird joins the lengthening list of satellite-tagged birds of prey that have disappeared, in highly suspicious circumstances, almost exclusively in areas intensively managed for grouse shooting.

“The LIFE project team has fitted a significant number of tags to young hen harriers this year, with the very welcome help from landowners, including the National Trust for Scotland, who value these magnificent birds breeding on their property.

“The transmitters used in this project are incredibly reliable and the sudden halt in data being received from it, with no hint of a malfunction, is very concerning. We ask that if anyone has any information about the disappearance of this bird to contact Police Scotland as quickly as possible.”

David Frew, operations manager for the National Trust for Scotland at Mar Lodge Estate, said: “It is deeply saddening to learn that Calluna appears to have been lost, so soon after fledging from Mar Lodge Estate.”